The First Lackey Under The Empress

The night passed without incident.

The next morning, at the first crow of the rooster, the sound of washing up could be heard from the small courtyard where Zhao Du'an lived.

Afterward, Xu Zhenguan, dressed neatly, stepped out, declined You Jinhua's invitation to have breakfast at the residence, and, amidst the Zhao family's respectful farewells, boarded a carriage and headed back to the palace, facing the pale white of the eastern sky.

"Big brother," at the Zhao family's door, a young girl in a padded jacket raised her face, marked with dark circles under her eyes, her expression complex: "Did you and His Majesty last night…"

You Jinhua pursed her lips, her ears perked up high.

"…" Zhao Du'an, between laughter and tears, flicked her forehead, scolding with a smile:

"What are you thinking about at such a young age? Go back inside."

He yawned, preparing to go back to catch up on sleep.

— Having returned from the back lake last night, Xu Zhenguan stayed in the guest room next door, while Zhao Du'an spent the night alone in his room, unable to sleep until late because of his excitement.

The mother and daughter returned, crestfallen.

…

That day, a great uproar arose in the capital, as details of yesterday's Plum Garden gathering finally spread.

The news of Master Zhengyang admitting defeat to "King Yama Zhao" was truly astonishing, and as expected, triggered a series of conspiracy theories.

One group staunchly believed that the imperial dogs had secretly coerced Zhengyang into submission.

Another group, paying attention to "Xin Xue" (Heart Learning), speculated that "Xin Xue" might have been written by a great Confucian scholar, spoken through Zhao Du'an's mouth.

But there was no evidence.

Zhao Du'an had no intention of plagiarizing Yangming's scholarship, so he ignored external speculation.

However, the plainclothes officers he sent out into the streets diligently recorded the names of those who slandered Lord Zhao in a register, and predictably, a secret arrest was inevitable.

Amidst the storm stirred up by this battle, the saying "His Majesty spent the night at the Zhao residence" spread in the imperial court, attracting the attention of officials and sparking secret discussions.

It was a different scene altogether.

This storm lasted for about a week before gradually subsiding as Master Zhengyang led his disciples out of the capital, returning the way they came.

Prince Heng's heir, Xu Zudi, also left the capital with Madam Xiao around the same time.

This greatly disappointed many who were hoping for another conflict between Xu Zudi and Zhao Du'an.

The capital regained its rare peace, but as winter approached, the topic of the Lake Pavilion Market gradually heated up, becoming the focus of attention both inside and outside the court.

And on the day that Da Yu officially welcomed "Lidong" (Start of Winter), stepping into the winter season, an official ship set sail, riding the sharp north wind toward Lake Pavilion.

…

…

Swish, swish—

The official ship cut through the waves, its sails billowing in the wind.

Inside the cabin, decorated similarly to an ordinary room, Zhao Du'an sat cross-legged on a woolen cushion presented from the Western Regions, his hands clasped loosely, his eyes tightly closed.

In front of him on the floor was a beast-shaped incense burner, emitting wisps of green smoke.

"Huff!"

Suddenly, the green smoke in the windless cabin stirred slightly, and Zhao Du'an exhaled deeply, returning to reality from his meditative practice.

When he opened his eyelids, a dazzling golden light vaguely flashed in his dark, bright pupils.

"I've finally advanced to the middle rank of Divine Chapter!"

Zhao Du'an couldn't hide the joy on his face. After this period of "digestion," with the help of the soul power brought by the self-destruction of the Bewitching True Person, he finally steadily stepped into the middle rank of the Divine Chapter realm.

The Buddhist-Taoist battle was in early autumn, when he entered the Divine Chapter, and now, only three months later, he has crossed another small realm.

"At this rate, won't I be able to reach the high rank before the end of the year, and enter the 'Worldly' realm next year? Reaching the minimum threshold for dual cultivation with Zhenbao? Well… that's assuming there's a second Bewitching True Person to send me experience."

Zhao Du'an couldn't help but fantasize.

The breakthrough in the small realm didn't bring any particularly big changes. Apart from the fullness of the Qi Sea, the more obvious ability was that he had the prototype of "Divine Sense."

"Now, even if I close my eyes, I can vaguely 'see' the outside world with perception, although it's still blurry and the distance is limited, it's still very magical."

"Moreover, my reaction speed, memory, and even energy have all improved. No wonder Zhenbao can review memorials around the clock, working at high intensity without showing fatigue. The sublimation of the level of life brought about by cultivation is indeed remarkable."

While Zhao Du'an was sighing, his ears suddenly twitched, hearing footsteps approaching outside the door.

Looking through the door panel, he suddenly sketched a blurry image of what was behind the door in his mind.

It was as if his eyes had gained X-ray vision, "seeing" a pair of long legs in leather boots approaching behind the door, accompanied by a swaying black ponytail.

"Hai Jisi, please come in," Zhao Du'an said, the corners of his mouth rising.

The next second, the cabin door was pushed open, revealing a heroic face with a tear mole adorning the corner of her eye.

Haitang, dressed in a brocade official robe, her waist bulging with a cloth bag full of flying knives, looked at him with a look of surprise and uncertainty: "How did you know it was me?"

Zhao Du'an smiled without saying a word.

Haitang's eyes widened, unable to believe it, and said: "You're in the middle rank now?"

Seeing that the latter did not refute, the Hall Master of the Water Immortal Hall held her breath, her expression extremely complex, but ripples arose in her heart:

She remembered that when Zhao Du'an entered the Zhao Yamen, he was the weakest of the nine halls, but now, only a few months later, he had already joined the ranks of the top ones.

"Is there something you need?" Zhao Du'an said with a smile, silently enjoying the admiration of his female colleague.

Haitang gathered her thoughts, and said with a straight face: "We're almost at Lake Pavilion, the Sea Offering wants to see you."

"Have we finally arrived?" Zhao Du'an's spirits lifted, and he followed the former out of the cabin and onto the deck.

This time, he was ordered by the Empress to come to Lake Pavilion to oversee the opening of the market by the imperial court, a heavy responsibility and a long journey. He had been drifting on the Grand Canal for many days, and finally arrived.

…

Zhao Du'an stepped onto the deck, facing the wind blowing from the river, his vision suddenly widened.

On the vast river, large and small ships sailed on the river in the distance. There were both official ships and merchant ships, keeping their distance from each other.

The winter wind was not gentle, even though everyone had traveled south all the way.

The sails on the ship's mast had been lowered by half to reduce the wind speed. The outline of the mountains could be seen in the distance, and the city docks were faintly discernible.

"Lord!"

As soon as he appeared, the Lihua Hall officials who were traveling with him greeted him one after another. This time, two of the "Four Pear Blossoms" were dispatched, while Qian Kerou and Zheng Laojiu stayed in the capital.

Hou Renmeng and Shen Juan, two rough men, led a team of Jinyi to follow, and a team of imperial guards was also on board to escort them.

Haitang was additionally borrowed as Zhao Du'an's assistant.

"You've come out?"

On the deck, the Grand Eunuch standing by the railing turned around with a smile.

This Chief Offering, whose real name was "Hai Chunlin," was escorting Zhao Du'an south this time.

The Grand Eunuch, whose age had long exceeded a hundred years, was not wearing that flamboyant bright red python robe, but only a cotton cloth robe. Although he was old, his wrinkled face was flushed, and it was unknown whether it was because of his vigorous qi and blood or because of the cold wind.

"Eh? You… you're in the middle rank now?"

Grandpa Hai narrowed his eyes, carefully looked at Zhao Du'an, who was wearing luxurious clothes and not wearing an official robe, and was slightly surprised.

"Hehe, I can't hide it from Grandpa," Zhao Du'an said with a smile.

The old offering clicked his tongue, suddenly glanced at Haitang, and sighed:

"It's a pity that His Majesty made the first move, otherwise, I would have really had the idea of taking you as a disciple."

Haitang was expressionless, and glared at him angrily: "Grandpa, you can just talk about him, why are you looking at me?"

Hai Chunlin smiled, not annoyed at all.

In the entire court, how many people dared to talk to the old offering like this? But the surrounding people were already used to it.

"There's no need to be so serious," Zhao Du'an said with a smile, "If I had known earlier that Haitang was a relative of the Sea Offering, our two halls should have been closer long ago."

When Grandpa Hai entered the palace, he still had family at home.

At that time, they were also a small family, so they were willing to send their children into the palace to be eunuchs.

After Hai Chunlin became a court eunuch, the “Hai family” outside also received care. Although they didn't become extremely wealthy, it ensured the family's smooth sailing for a hundred years.

In terms of seniority, Hai Tang's great-grandfather was Hai Chunlin's brother, a true blood relative.

She was also the second person in the Hai family in the last hundred years, besides Hai Chunlin, with remarkable talent in cultivation. Coupled with her meticulous mind and proper handling of affairs, she was able to enter the Imperial Secret Service.

Eunuch Hai also doted on this great-granddaughter, but Hai Tang was unwilling to rely on her background, so only a very few people knew about their connection.

“Sigh, having such a great background and not using it, insisting on relying on one's own efforts, are the brains of the children of wealthy families all diseased?”

After Zhao Du'an learned about the relationship between the grandfather and granddaughter, he frantically complained in his heart. He used to think this kind of thing only happened in TV dramas, but he didn't expect there to be one right next to him.

“Lord Zhao, refer to my position during work.”

Hai Tang rolled her eyes, expressing her rejection, her tone slightly sarcastic:

“If Lord Zhao cares about his subordinates, he can go and care about the two over there.”

Helpless, Zhao Du'an followed her gaze and looked towards the corner of the official ship's deck.

There, Zhen Bao had arranged for two other expert guards for him.

Lang Shiba and Ji Yue.

At this moment, the swordsman named Lang Shiba was sitting cross-legged in a corner of the deck, his long hair covering one eye.

Wearing a thin, coarse blue shirt, he had a knife lying across his lap, and next to him was an exceptionally large green gourd. The mouth of the gourd was open, overflowing with the aroma of strong liquor.

Lang Shiba held a broken pottery bowl in his hand, staring blankly, occasionally taking a sip of the liquor in the bowl.

If he drank it all, he would scoop another bowl from the large wine gourd.

He was a “drunkard”…

Five steps away from him was a magician dressed in red, with the whites of her eyes occupying most of her pupils, like a female ghost, “Ji Yue.”

Her body was always damp. The chains that originally bound her wrists and ankles were gone, replaced by scars left by long-term confinement and wear.

Ji Yue lowered her head, avoiding everyone's gaze, rarely speaking.

According to Zhao Du'an's observation along the way, he was sure she had severe social anxiety…

“Eunuch, I've always wanted to ask, what exactly are the backgrounds of these two people His Majesty arranged?”

Zhao Du'an sighed, asking for advice in a low voice, “I always feel like they're not very reliable.”

The old eunuch stood with his hands behind his back, smiling kindly like an elder in the village, and said with a smile:

“Didn't I tell you, kid? One is from the north, and one is from the east.”

I don't want to hear nonsense… Zhao Du'an sighed softly and said:

“From my observations these days, although that Lang Shiba seems drunk and unrestrained, like a wandering Jianghu traveler, he has an indelible military aura, but it's not strong. Could it be that he was once a strongman in the army? The north? North of the capital is Tieguan Pass, the territory of the Prince of Yan…

But he's in the capital, so he shouldn't have anything to do with the Prince of Yan. Such a master shouldn't be unknown. Is he from Jubei City, where the imperial court stationed troops in Tieguan Pass? Am I guessing right?”

“As for that Ji Yue, her social anxiety is terrible… well, social anxiety means being afraid of contact with people. Her accent is a bit strange, not like Qingzhou, nor like Bin Hai Dao… Her appearance is also not like the dark-skinned people from Lingnan. Occasionally, she will also say some gibberish dialect. Could she be from the thousand islands of the East Sea? Not a citizen of the Great Yu Dynasty?”

Eunuch Hai's smile remained unchanged: “Haven't you guessed a lot already?”

Zhao Du'an smiled bitterly: “I want to know more details, otherwise I won't feel at ease using them.”

Eunuch Hai laughed heartily:

“What's there to worry about with those His Majesty gave you? Just relax, I guarantee these two will die before you.”

The swordsman and drunkard seemed not to have heard the discussion here, still drinking and talking to himself.

The white-eyed female ghost glanced quickly in this direction. After meeting Zhao Du'an's gaze, she turned her head back with a whoosh, silently looking at the wet embroidered tips of her shoes.

“Alright…” Zhao Du'an sighed. The old man was very bad, not revealing anything, but there was nothing he could do.

He held onto the railing, looking at the port and city ahead, and said:

“Huting… I heard about such a place in the capital, at the intersection of Linfeng and the Huai River. It was originally a berthing pier built midway when the former dynasty dug the Grand Canal, and later gradually developed.

Even now, it is still just a 'town' in the books of the Six Ministries. This scale is already much larger than a county seat. It's just that this isolated territory, the port where merchant ships on the canal load, unload, and exchange goods, doesn't have enough villages and towns under its jurisdiction, so it can't become a county.

But the buildings on the shore and the scene of thousands of sails competing are not unlike a prefecture-level city like Taicang.”

After a pause, Zhao Du'an added:

“It is said that the 'Lake' in the name Huting comes from a 'Smoky Lock Lake' that was formed by flood discharge here. There is also a huge statue carved on the mountain cliff by the lake? It is also a famous historical site. How many scholars in Jiangnan have written poems about it, making it famous.

Princess Xu Junling seems to have several poems written about it. Well, after all, this is considered the territory of the Huai River. What percentage of the shops and merchant ships in the entire Huting belong to the Huai'an Prince's Mansion?”

Hai Chunlin also stood on the deck with him, looking into the distance, and said with a smile:

“This old man doesn't understand those disputes in the court, he only cares about protecting your life. But I can also hear what you kid wants to say. The Huting market is about to open. The Prince of Huai'an and the Prince of Jing are close to this place. Shadow Guard intelligence says they arrived many days before us.

The other princes have also sent their confidants. Now they are all rooted in this city… I dare say, there are countless eyes in the whole city staring at you now.”

Zhao Du'an sighed: “They want to kill me, right.”

Suddenly, a large ship in the field of vision approached rapidly from afar, attracting the attention of everyone on the deck.

“Sir, the ship ahead seems to be heading towards us!”

Hou Ren frowned tightly, gripping the hilt of his knife.

Hai Tang, who was more meticulous and good at solving cases, raised her eyebrows, her expression slightly changed:

“This is not an ordinary ship, it's a warship! There's no war right now, who would be driving a warship on the river?”

The appearance of a warship on the river attracted everyone's attention.

A behemoth was seen approaching, breaking through the waves.

It had three floors, was six zhang high, painted with vermilion lacquer, and covered with iron armor, with a horse-walking shed installed. The arrow holes on the crenellations were dense and frightening to look at.

Zhao Du'an held the handrail of the ship with both hands, squinted his eyes, and stared coldly at the behemoth, which was two or three times larger than the one under his feet.

His palms clenched slightly.

Although they were still far apart, he seemed to vaguely hear the sound of silk and bamboo instruments. On that warship, there seemed to be many men and women playing and frolicking.

At the very top, a flag composed of black and yellow, not the Huai River Navy, fluttered in the wind, with a four-clawed golden dragon vaguely painted on it.

“The flag of the Jing Prince's Mansion!” Hai Tang's expression changed slightly.

Eunuch Hai looked at a certain figure on the deck of the warship, then suddenly looked at Zhao Du'an, meaningfully saying:

“Your rival in love has arrived.”

Rival in love?

Zhao Du'an was stunned, then remembered a certain rumor, and blurted out:

“The Heir Apparent of Prince Jing? Xu Jinglong?”

Far away.

On the third floor of the “Ironclad Ship,” a huge object, Xu Jinglong stood with his hands behind his back, overlooking the low official ship in front of him, with no expression on his face.

…

Today, one update, typos will be corrected later.

Thanks to 2022…7093 for the hundred-coin reward!